Bonds of Ice
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: When alive, they were brothers. When they died, they were forced apart. Then one found the other and they both rekindled their unbreakable bond. Totally an AU oneshot. Rated because of mean bandits, and, of course, death


**Bleach Oneshot**

**Bonds of Ice**

**Hyourinmaru/Toshiro**

**Friendship/Angst**

**When alive, they were brothers. When they died, they were forced apart. Then one found the other and they both rekindled their unbreakable bond. Totally an AU oneshot. Rated because of mean bandits, and, of course, death.**

**(Sadly, I don't own Bleach. I DO own a white haired character with an attitude, just not in Bleach.)**

* * *

Bonds of Ice

* * *

He was a penniless samurai, walking through the desolate streets of his home. The first time in many years he had chosen to return to the place of his birth, and it was still as unwelcoming as ever. What few people he happened upon were children that were quickly pulled away by their mothers, reminding him why he rarely came home in the first place. The dry winds of winter were the only ones to greet him as his footsteps turned into a limp of weariness.

Rest.

His body demanded rest.

He leaned against the first wall he could find and fell down slowly, his kimono catching on various points on the building. He was worn out and exhausted. His muscles were screaming with pain and his joints were beginning to betray him. A sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes and prepared for sleep. Then he heard people again.

"It's him," they said.

"It's that guy again," another said.

"Hyourinmaru Hitsugaya."

Hyourinmaru.

That was his name.

The ring of ice.

The icy heart and cold spirit.

The frozen, yet attractive, member of the fallen Histugaya clan. A samurai clan.

Hyrouinmaru Hitsugaya.

His green hair was matted, his delicate features hidden underneath a light amount of dirt. His sea-green kimono was hanging limply on his dashing frame. It wasn't his size and hardly his color, but he didn't wear it for looks. He wore it for warmth, something his home was extremely lacking.

Another sigh escaped him when he heard a small sneeze by his side. He turned his head and looked down. It was a mound of clothes. Nothing more. At least, that's what he thought until it had begun to move around.

Curiosity took hold of him and he gently pulled one of the tattered kimonos away from the pile.

That was when he saw it.

A small head with a tuft of white hair.

Upon further inspection, he realized that it was a small boy in a toddler's kimono. "What…?" Hyourinmaru breathed.

The little boy rubbed his eyes and looked up to him. Bright teal eyes met dark. The child possessed a round face with a near-sickly pale complexion and snow-white hair. His toddler kimono was worn to shreds, granting him as much protection from the warmth as a ragged blanket. His pudgy hands reached out to Hyourinmaru, his teal eyes widening with surprise.

"Nii…san?" the little boy asked, his voice containing a slight squeak.

Hyourinmaru's eyes widened, his voice caught in his throat. "What did you just…call me?" he asked.

"Nii…san?" the boy repeated, his face adopting a light smile.

Hyourinmaru froze. (Forgive the irony.) He didn't snap out of it until the boy crawled out of the clothing and into his lap. That caused Hyourinmaru to raise an eyebrow. "Boy," he said, "get off of me."

It didn't work. The boy was already asleep, breathing softly in Hyourinmaru's lap.

Hyourinmaru sighed as he leaned his head back. The child was light, to be sure. And small.

Maybe he could put up with him for one night. He was a light enough sleeper.

* * *

"Nii-san, where are we going?"

Hyourinmaru sighed and turned around. The toddler, Toshiro, had been following him since the middle of winter. While he didn't mind the company, he found it strangely odd that the boy continued to call him 'Nii-san.' "For the final time," Hyourinmaru said, "I am Hyourinmaru. Please address me as such."

The toddler looked up to Hyourinmaru with innocent eyes. "Hori-baru?" he asked.

Hyourinmaru had to stop himself from laughing. "Never mind," he told him. "You'll get it eventually."

Then he started back down the road again. "M-Matte, Nii-san!" Toshiro called, racing forward and grabbing hold of his sea-green kimono.

Hyourinmaru looked down to him again with a curious expression. "Whatever is the matter now?" he asked.

Toshiro didn't give any answer, but the tears streaming down his face gave Hyourinmaru room to wonder.

Had the child been abandoned?

Hyourinmaru wrapped one of his hands around Toshiro's tiny frame. "I'm not leaving you, Toshiro," he said. "I promise you."

Instantly, the tears stopped and Toshiro looked up to Hyourinmaru with a smile on his face. Then he gave Hyourinmaru another hug, this one tighter than the last one.

Hyourinmaru only chuckled a little bit before asking that Toshiro get off of him.

Not that the little toddler listened to him.

* * *

The two had journeyed together for some years after that. Young Toshiro, now Toshiro Hitsugaya, had grown into a fine young man with delicate features. He was only about 12 years old, but he would surely be a handsome man when he grew up.

If only he had the chance.

* * *

"Hyourinmaru, are you sure we're going the right way?" Toshiro asked. (He stopped calling him 'Nii-san' when he was around 6 or 7 years old.)

"What makes you say otherwise?" Hyourinmaru asked, turning his head to face his little brother.

"We've been walking through this forest for the last few hours," Toshiro responded, looking at the various trees around them both.

"I realize that," Hyourinmaru said, "but don't worry. We'll be making it out and into town shortly."

"Thank goodness for that," Toshiro mumbled.

Hyourinmaru let out a chuckle. Toshiro may have never intended to, but he always looked childishly cute when he did stuff like that.

Suddenly, the two of them could hear rustling in the bushes. Toshiro's blood went cold and he hid behind Hyourinmaru. (Twelve? Yes. Matured? No.) "What was that, Hyourinmaru?" he asked.

"I don't know," Hyourinmaru admitted, pulling Toshiro closer to his body.

He didn't know, but he quickly got his answer. And it was not the answer he was hoping for.

From the bushes emerged a group of bandits. Despite their ragged appearance, Hyourinmaru could tell that every one of them was a very powerful opponent.

Best to avoid any conflict, if possible.

"And what might you be doing here?" Hyourinmaru asked slowly. "Answer me."

The bandit leader gave a light snicker. "Hand over all your possessions," he said. "Do it now or we'll take them from your corpses."

Hyourinmaru gritted his teeth as he took in the frightening picture. The bandits' ivory knives were held in their thin fingers. Their eyes were snapping with a desire to kill. Hyourinmaru had seen it before. "Toshiro," he said softly, pulling Toshiro even closer.

"W-What is it?" Toshiro asked.

Hyourinmaru kept his eyes on the bandits before him, gritting his teeth as he struggled to contain his hidden emotions. "Get out of here," he said.

"Huh?"

"You heard me. Get out of here. Run back into the forest as fast as you can. They won't go after you."

"Then you're coming with me, right?"  
Hyourinmaru drew his sword. A long katana with a blue grip and diamond-shaped guard. That only meant one thing.

He wasn't going.

Toshiro's eyes shook with fear as the bandits began to take a step forward. Hyourinmaru's eyes narrowed and he gave Toshiro a hefty shove, pushing the boy to the ground as one of the bandits raced forward. "Go!" Hyourinmaru commanded.

That was when everything became a single blur. Time began to slow as the bandits leapt forward, his dagger aimed for Hyourinmaru's heart. Hyourinmaru tilted his blade to the side as his eyes adopted a battle-hardened expression. He thrust it forward, his teeth gritted in suppressed anger. One of his opponents let out a cry of anguish as the cold blade pierced him through.

Hyourinmaru looked back. Toshiro was frozen with fear, his knees shaking with terror. He'd be lucky to run in the condition he was in, but still, Hyourinmaru was firm. "What are you doing?!" he shouted. "Run! Now-"

The entire world went red as a burning pain erupted in his chest. He looked down to his chest. A blackened dagger was piercing his flesh, allowing his life blood to pour from his heart.

Toshiro's eyes widened with fear as Hyourinmaru fell to the ground. "Hyourinmaru!" he shrieked, throwing down everything he'd been holding and racing to his brother. "Hyourinmaru! Hyourinmaru!"

Hyourinmaru's world had become a blur. He was beginning to feel lightheaded and everything was beginning to go cold. He looked up to Toshiro, who's cold hands were pushing against his shoulder in an attempt to help him back up. His brothers words had become nothing more than an echo in the man's ears. "Hyourinmaru! Nii-san!"

Hyourinmaru's eyes widened and the world began to clear. Toshiro's eyes were brimming with tears. "Nii-san! Wake up!" Toshiro cried.

"_What is he doing?_" Hyourinmaru thought. "_Why isn't he running away like I told him?_"

He tried to force himself up; to battle against the bandits a little longer while Toshiro made his escape, but it was of no use. His body had already gone numb. "G-Get away from here, Toshiro," he breathed.

"Are you nuts?!" Toshiro shouted. "I'm not leaving you alone!"

"This isn't…a matter…of choice," Hyourinmaru said, attempting to stand up again.

He only succeeded in falling into a puddle of his own blood.

Toshiro's eyes widened with fear. Then he picked up his brother's sword with his blood-covered hands. He stood up just as the bandits walked towards them again. "Stay away from us!" he shouted. "Just stay away, you hear?!"

"Toshiro…," Hyourinmaru choked.

Toshiro's entire body was trembling. The sword was heavy in his small hands. He gritted his teeth as he stood his ground. "Just go away!" he shouted. "Don't come near us!"

The bandits looked taken aback for a moment. Then one of them lunged forward and grabbed hold of the front of Toshiro's kimono.

Again, the world began to blur. Hyourinmaru's blood began to boil and he clenched his fist in fury. "_Leave him alone,_" he thought angrily. "_Leave…him…alone."_ His eyelids began to fall and the world started to go black. "_Toshiro…._"

* * *

A great dragon was resting in a field of ice. A single name rang out in his mind.

Hyourinmaru.

A single name, but he felt that it was important. If anything, he had to keep that memory engraved in his heart.

His eyes were directed to the skies. In the day, he watched the clouds overhead, but during the night, he dreamt. Dreamt of a young boy with white hair and big, teal eyes. He didn't know why, but he felt like it was his duty to protect him.

A duty he felt he'd failed once before.

* * *

A century had passed.

Then another.

Then yet another.

Then he saw him.

The very same boy with the white hair and teal eyes. However, his expression was hardly the one of the innocent boy in his dreams. Instead, it was a boy with a cold air who was hated by those around him.

A pang of anger attacked Hyourinmaru's cold heart of ice. Then a wave of emotion passed through him.

He knew what he had to do.

His choice had been made.

Xxxxxxxx

(Present Time)

The zanpakuto spirit of ice was resting in his great world of snow. The wind blocked out most noises, but a single word rang out over all others.

"Hyourinmaru?" Toshiro called.

The serpentine dragon opened his ruby eyes and looked at his master's face. Toshiro's face had matured since the day they first met. (He still hadn't grown an inch though.) It must have had something to do with being a member of Squad Ten, under the command of Isshin Shiba. Titles can do amazing things for a child. "_Whatever is the matter, Boy?_"

"You seem tense for some reason," Toshiro reported. "Is something wrong?"

Hyourinmaru let out a hiss/chuckle. "_Nothing is the matter, Boy,_" he said. "_Nothing at all._"

His ruby red eyes gazed into Toshiro's mature teal ones. "_I promise you, Master,__" _Hyourinmaru thought tenderly. "_I am not going to abandon you. I shall always remain by your side._" His eyes softened and his chops were pulled into a smile. "_I am going to protect you, Boy. I shall not fail a second time. This…I vow.__"_

* * *

**D.T.B: ALERT! ALERT! Toshiro was OOC! Hey. Totally random, but did anybody notice that, if you move the T in Alert around, it becomes "Alter?"**

**Sirius: That's pretty random, even for you.**

**D.T.B: Justification for the OOC-ness! ….he was a little kid. But even you have to admit that a toddler Toshiro is adorable! **

**Please leave a review. I'll even accept positive criticism!**

**Sirius: I thought you always accept positive criticism.**

**Toshiro: Yeah.**

**D.T.B: [reddened face.] Uh. Yeah. Did I say that out loud?**

**Sirius and Toshiro: YES!**


End file.
